County police chief says Rams apologized for ‘Hands up’ gesture; team's VP says otherwise  —  • By Jim Thomas jthomas@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8197  —  UPDATED at 9:36 p.m. Monday with comment from Rams vice president.  —  Rams vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff …

GOP Staffer Who Attacked Obama Girls Was Arrested During Her Own “Awful Teen Years”  —  Buster  —  The Republican congressional aide who castigated the Obama daughters for their lack of “class” and dressing as if they were angling for a “spot at a bar” was once arrested for larceny during her own …

Republican early voting increases before Louisiana's Dec. 6 runoff  —  The number of people who cast their ballots early in Louisiana dropped off from the Nov. 4 primary election to the Dec. 6 runoff election in every statewide category except one: registered Republican voters.

The Ferguson Decision Was Not a “Miscarriage of Justice.”  Liberals Need to Accept That.  —  Susan Sontag once famously commented that one could have learned much more about the Soviet Union from 1950 to 1970 from reading the Readers' Digest than from reading The Nation.

Harry Reid threatens recess, Christmas  —  Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is using his final weeks as majority leader to threaten one of lawmakers' most valuable assets: Recess.  —  Facing down a daunting list of tasks, ranging from funding the government past Dec. 11 to approving …

The Torch Is Being Passed to A New Generation of Right-Wing Media  —  “If you're looking for something, you might not find it,” says Lachlan Markay.  “If you're looking for anything, then, who knows?”  —  It's the middle of November, early morning, and Markay is perched in a chair right outside …

Obama Dealt Major Setback in Closing Guantanamo  —  President Barack Obama's 5-year-old campaign to close the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, suffered a major setback as lawmakers finalizing the annual defense policy bill rejected steps toward shuttering the facility.

Rob Portman won't run for president in 2016  —  Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Mitt Romney ally in 2012 who was exploring his own bid for president in 2016, has opted against a White House bid and will instead seek another Senate term, sources confirmed to POLITICO.

UNEQUAL TREATMENT IN ARIZONA, SWINGS IN MEDICAID ACCESS SHOW PROGRAM'S IMPACT  —  Bad timing turned Karen Slone's medical problem into a crisis.  —  Slone, 53, a former administrative assistant with diabetes, followed doctors' advice for years, getting regular checkups.

Obama Offers New Standards on Police Gear  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama, grappling with how to respond to the racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and a wave of anger at law enforcement officials across the country, said Monday that he would tighten standards on the provision of military-style equipment …

Hispanic approval of President Obama surges following immigration announcement  —  Emory University political science Prof. Alan Abramowitz noticed something in Gallup's weekly assessment of President Obama's approval numbers: His approval among Hispanics has shot up by 14 points over the past two weeks.

Sabrina Rubin Erdely, woman behind Rolling Stone's explosive U-Va. alleged rape story  —  Magazine writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely knew she wanted to write about sexual assaults at an elite university.  What she didn't know was which university.  —  So, for six weeks starting in June, Erdely interviewed students from across the country.

Rick Santorum: Separation Of Church And State A Communist Idea, Not An American One  —  In a conference call with members of right-wing pastor E.W. Jackson's STAND America that was posted online today, former senator Rick Santorum disputed the existence of the separation of church and state …

Bad Memories Down South  —  I've just spent nearly a week back home in exurban Atlanta, and I regret to report that the events in and in reaction to Ferguson have brought back (at least in some of the older white folks I talked with) nasty and openly racist attitudes I haven't heard expressed in so unguarded a manner since the 1970s.

Ben Carson Manages To Blame Ferguson On The 'Women's Lib Movement'  —  Conservative activist and former pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson recently blamed police shootings of black men on the “Me” generation that grew out of the “women's lib movement.”  —  During an appearance Tuesday …